


Out in the Cold

by ImOutOfMyVulcanMind (LoopyLu94)



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Arguments, Chril if you squint, Friends to Lovers, M/M, implied sexual activies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2017-07-06
Packaged: 2018-11-23 19:04:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11408652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoopyLu94/pseuds/ImOutOfMyVulcanMind
Summary: Set a few months after ST: 09, but before STID, Jim and Leonard are left to oversee a cadet training mission on a freezing planet. During the night, as they wait for potential emergencies, many things are revealed.





	1. Chapter 1

“Couldn’t they have chosen somewhere a bit warmer to hold this damned course? It’s damned well freezing!” Leonard tugged his jacket tighter around himself, scowling at the little clouds of breath as they appeared in front of him.

“That’s the point, Bones. It’s about surviving in cold temperatures.” Next to him, Jim laughed, looking far too happy for a man about to spend the night in freezing conditions. “Look on the bright side, at least we get a tent, and a means to cook actual food instead of ration packs, the cadets out there have to manage on far less.”

Leonard sighed. He knew Jim was right, but it didn’t mean he had to like it. “Still can’t believe you let Chris talk you into overseeing this though, and sign me up without asking.”

Jim shrugged. “He and Phil were the overseeing officers back when I did this, so it seemed fair.” Jim glanced down at the coordinates on his PADD, then back up. “This is home base.”

Leonard looked around as they came into a clearing suddenly. The ground was bare, and quite large, but the trees surrounding it were so thick, it was near impossible to just stumble across. “Couldn’t they have just beamed us straight here?”

Jim gave him a look, and rolled his eyes. “Where’s the fun it that?” He grinned. “Let’s get setup, I’m starving.”

“You always are.” Leonard muttered, but set his packs down carefully and set about helping Jim put up their tent, and get the rest of their gear, including his bountiful med supplies, stored properly.

“You know the chances of any of them needing our help is slim, right?” Jim asked, looking at the amount of items Leonard had brought. “They’re all third year, they know what they’re doing out there.”

“They’re also all Command track. There’s always a chance of at least one idiot trying to travel through the night to be the first to get to us, who’ll end up with hypothermia, or a broken ankle from falling down a ditch in the dark. And God knows what kind of flora this damned ice chip of a planet has that could set off any number of allergies.” Leonard gave Jim his best ‘if you try to disagree with me on this, I’ll sedate you for the rest of the day’ glare, then resumed his task of triple checking that everything was where it should be.

Jim chuckled, but left Leonard to it, instead focusing on heating up some of the food they’d been given. Leonard finished just as Jim did, and went to sit next to his friend, gratefully accepting the warm bowl of food. After a few minutes of eating in silence, Jim looked up at the sky. “The temperature’s really going to drop soon. Once we finish, we should go into the tent.”

Leonard frowned as he also looked up at the sky. The sun was low, but there were still a couple of hours before it was due to set. “How do you know?” He asked. “I didn’t see any temperature drops before nightfall on the forecast they gave us.

Jim was silent for a few long moments, staring into the distance. Leonard’s frowned deepened. “Jim?” He was about to reach out to the other, when Jim snapped himself out of it.

“A Command sixth sense, I guess.” He answered, plastering a smile that didn’t reach his eyes onto his face.

Leonard didn’t like it, but he knew Jim well to know that he wasn’t going to get anything out of him at the moment. “Okay then. I’m about done, so let’s clear up and get inside.

Jim nodded. Together they made short work of clearing everything away, but even then, by the time they were ready to climb into their tent, Leonard could feel the sharp drop in temperature. Leonard was about to clamber in, when Jim suddenly swung around to face the trees, body tense and ready to fight.

“Jim, what’s wr-?”

“Quiet.” Jim hissed, hand reaching for where his phaser would usually be. Leonard could see the internal curse cross his face when his hand only grabbed air instead. Jim stepped cautiously towards the trees, evidently listening for something. Leonard stayed still and quiet, though he was sure his heart was beating loud enough to be heard. This planet was meant to be deserted. It was why it was used for ‘fleet training exercises. There weren’t even any predatory animals.

Jim stalked around for a few minutes, before sighing and letting his guard drop. “I thought I heard something. Sorry.”

Leonard was tempted to tell Jim off. Shout at him for scaring him half to death, but there was something in Jim’s eyes that stopped him. A flicker of both embarrassment and vulnerability. He waved it off. “Bound to see ghosts on an empty planet.” He shrugged. “Come on, let’s get inside before we’re the ones who end up with hypothermia.”

Jim nodded, waiting for Leonard to get in first. Leonard noted how Jim hesitated a few moments longer, doing one last sweep of the area before joining Leonard inside the tent. Leonard zipped the opening shut, sighing at the warmth the insulated material provided. The tent wasn’t overly large, but it gave the both of them plenty of room without having to be stuck too close together.

It was the first time they’d slept in close proximity since their own Academy days, and Leonard would be lying if he said he hadn’t been secretly looking forward to it. He missed being in the same room as Jim. He missed waking up to Jim’s hair sticking up all over the place and a sleepy smile. He missed seeing Jim first thing in the morning when he hadn’t had time to put all his walls up. They still spent most of their free time together, but it was never the same, and Leonard planned on making the most of getting to spend a night with him. Even if he’d never admit it to Jim.

“They’ll be alright out there, won’t they? The cadets?” Jim asked, breaking their silence as he settled onto his bedroll.

“You were singing their praises not long ago, what’s happened?” Leonard returned, frowning again.

“This sudden dip in temperature wasn’t expected, and they are under my care.” Jim answered with a shrug.

“Our care, Jim. They’re under our care. But The ‘fleet is observing this whole thing. If it gets colder than they’d like it to be, they’ll call it off.” Leonard said, tilting his head as he studied Jim closely. “And all cadets are in pairs and each one has a communicator. They can get hold of us if they need to.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I like this new buddy system they’ve introduced for these exercises. Reduces risk. Being able to survive on your own is good, but it’s even better to band together to survive.” Leonard raised an eyebrow. There was a story behind the statement he was sure, but he couldn’t begin to imagine what that story could be. In the last few months since they’d taken over the Enterprise, no one had been stranded, not in any extreme circumstances or for long enough where their very survival came into question anyway. He stayed silent, waiting, wondering if Jim would look up from his hands and tell him that story.

“Though if you asked Chris, he’d say he was glad it was a solo exercise back when I did it.” There wasn’t going to be an explanation behind the strange statement then. Jim was changing topics.

“What do you mean?” Leonard took the bait.

“When I was out here, it wasn’t nearly as cold as it is at the moment. Still freezing, but just the jackets provided were enough to keep you going, so I decided to walk through the night. I was determined to be the first cadet to arrive, and I kept thinking how impressive it would be if I made it back before morning, well before anyone would be expecting a cadet.” Jim started, chuckling to himself as his thoughts moved on. Leonard thought it was nice to see the genuine smile back on Jim’s face. “I did make it back too. I figured it to be about midnight. I was just going to log my arrival, and set up near the tent so when Chris and Phil woke in the morning, they’d see me straight away. Wasn’t about to wake them up or anything. Only when I got there I found that they weren’t sleeping. Quite the opposite actually. They were being very…active.”

Leonard made a noise that sounded like a snort, but definitely wasn’t because he was a Doctor and CMO, and certainly did not snort. “Are you saying that you caught them going at it?”

“Like rabbits if the noises were anything to go by.” Jim caught Leonard’s eye, his shoulders starting to shake as began to laugh uncontrollably. Leonard couldn’t resist and began laughing too.

“What did you do?” He asked, when he was finally able to speak again.

“Nothing. I found a spot just out of earshot, and stayed there until just before dawn. I was still the first cadet back by three hours.” Jim answered, wiping a tear from his eye.

“You never told him?”

“Nah. Seemed odd at the time, y’know? You don’t go up to two superior officers and say ‘oh by the way, I caught you two banging last night’. And their relationship wasn’t public knowledge at the time, and I didn’t want to risk making things awkward.” Jim shrugged, leaning back on his elbows. “I mentioned it afterwards. The night before we launched on our first mission we had a couple of drinks, and it slipped out. He found it funny, but he was probably glad I was the only one who saw.”

“That’s fair enough. Though I get the feeling that if it had been anyone other than Chris, you probably would have hinted at least.” Leonard smiled, imitating Jim’s position.

“Maybe.” Jim returned the smile, head cocking to the side slightly as he studied Leonard. “Thanks for agreeing to do this with me, Bones.”

“Didn’t have much choice, kid. You signed me up before you even asked, remember?”

“You know I would’ve gotten you out of it, if you really hadn’t wanted to.” Jim was quiet, and Leonard was startled by the intensity in his eyes when he turned his head back to look at the blond. “I told Chris you’d do it because it was instinct, but I’d never make you do shit like this if you were completely opposed to it. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, I know, Jim.” Leonard answered just as quietly. He broke the eye contact first, certain that something had just happened between them, but unsure of what it meant. “As if I’d let you come out here with some other Doctor though. I didn’t have a choice before, so I was never going to let you do it again without me. Probably would have already caught hypothermia. Or decided to try and eat a berry, and ended up throwing up all over the place. Damned infant.” He huffed, hoping that it would break whatever spell had come over the tent, because if one thing was normal, it was Leonard insulting Jim.

It worked, but not in the way Leonard had hoped. “I know how to survive in the wild. I know how to keep warm, and how to test if berries are safe. I’m not the child you think I am, Bones.” Jim snapped harshly, dropping down onto the bedroll completely and rolling so his back was to Leonard. “I survived before you, and I’d survive without you. I don’t  _need_  you.”

Leonard flinched at that, and he was glad Jim wasn’t able to see it. He wasn’t sure if the words, or the venom they were delivered with, stung more. Leonard’s mouth was dry as he fought to find the right words to say. It had never even occurred to him that Jim would take offence to the insults. It was what they did. Or what Leonard did anyway. Jim would usually laugh and roll his eyes, and tell him that it’d be fun. It had always been a part of their relationship, something almost as natural as breathing itself, because despite Jim’s ability to injure himself in the oddest of ways, Leonard knew he was capable. And he’d always assumed that Jim was aware of that. “I’m…I’m sorry, Jim. Didn’t mean to upset you. I know you could manage out here by yourself. I…I know you…you don’t…need me.” It hadn’t hurt this much when he’d confronted his ex-wife, and told her he knew she’d been sleeping with his then best friend. It felt like a knife was being twisted in his stomach, because he could not lose Jim over some poorly chosen words.

Leonard stared at Jim’s back, hoping for an acceptance of his apology, but none came.

Leonard swallowed thickly and turned away from Jim. They’d had their fair share of arguments over the years. Of course they had, it was natural. Some were serious, some weren’t. Some were Jim’s fault, some were his. But Jim had never reacted like this. He’d never turned to ice; that was Leonard’s trick. Leonard wondered if Jim had felt this level of pain during the fights where Leonard had been so angry he turned cold. Probably not. Jim wasn’t hopelessly in love like Leonard was.

Leonard was scared, he realized. Scared that he’d broken a final straw that he’d been blind to see. That he’d unwittingly destroyed the best friendship he’d ever had. He was in love with Jim, but he could manage without that. He couldn’t manage without Jim’s friendship though. He needed it, he knew.

The silence between them was deafening, and Leonard started to think he’d be warmer if he slept outside. The chill radiated from Jim, stabbing at Leonard worse than any actual cold weather. It was only when Jim’s breathing slowed as he drifted off to sleep, did the ice lessen. Leonard sighed, letting his own eyes close. He didn’t feel tired, but it would be a long, lonely night if he stayed awake, and maybe in the fresh light of day, things wouldn’t be so bad.

Maybe.


	2. Chapter 2

Leonard was stirred from his barely asleep sleep, by quiet whimpering from the space next to him. He rolled over, just about able to make out Jim’s form tossing and turning in the low light of the light disc that hung above them. A nightmare. Leonard hesitated. It wasn’t the first time he’d been around when Jim was having a nightmare. He’d had his fair share of his own too. They’d usually wake the other up, or wait for them to wake, then if they wanted, they’d talk. **  
**

But after whatever it was that happened earlier, Leonard didn’t know if he’d be wanted. Not that he really had anywhere else to go. He ached to reach out to Jim, to hold him, and wake him with soft hushes and gentle touches, but he knew he couldn’t.

“Run…we gotta run…hurry…”

Leonard watched Jim with a frown. It was unusual for him to talk in his sleep.

“No…no… _Kodos_.”

It was a name Leonard recognized instantly. His eyes widened as the pieces of the puzzle he’d been trying to work out all night fell into place.

“Move…we need to move…now…RUN!” Jim yelled as he bolted up, his breaths coming in short, sharp ragged pants. The beads of sweat on his forehead glistened in the light, and Leonard could just make out the trail they left as they trickled down Jim’s temple.

Leonard closed the short distance between them. “It’s okay, Jim. You’re okay.” He whispered. He brought his hand up to rest on Jim’s shoulder, but it was shrugged away as soon as it landed.

“I’m fine. Leave me alone.”Jim snapped, his wavering voice undermining any harshness he tried to portray. “I need air.” Jim jerked away, and was in the process of unzipping the fabric when Leonard grabbed his arm again.

“No. Stay in here where it’s warm.” Leonard said sternly, watching as Jim paused. He could see the younger man’s brain whirling around.

Leonard thought that Jim was going to give in and stay, but then Jim broke free of his grasp once more, and exited the tent. Leonard shivered as the cold rush of air hit him, but refused to zip the material up again. Jim was too stubborn to let himself back in if he found it closed, and while there were enough emergency supplies for him to easily last the rest of the night, Leonard was going to make sure that the invitation to come back in was there if Jim wanted.

Instead he huddled up back on his side of the tent, processing what he’d just learned. Kodos. Tarsus IV. Everyone knew the story, even if the finer details had been omitted from public records. A part of him hoped that Jim was one of those the mad Governor had chosen to be spared, but with the way Jim had been acting, that was impossible to be true. 

Everything made sense now. Jim’s knowledge of impending weather changes with nothing to go by other than instinct, how skittish he’d been when he thought he heard a noise, and  _oh_. The way he’d reacted to Leonard’s jibe about not being able to cope down here without him. Leonard closed his eyes, squashing down the rising nausea even as he heard Jim wretch in the distance. It was no surprise he’d reacted negatively.

Leonard was just starting to debate over whether or not he should follow Jim, when the other slunk back into the tent. He stayed silent as he closed it behind him, and refused to look at Leonard as he crawled back onto his bedroll, back to Leonard once again.

“Jim?” Leonard ventured softly. “Do you need anything?”

“I’m fine, Bones. Stop being a mother hen.”

Leonard sighed, running a hand through his hair. He didn’t know if this was going to be a good idea, but nothing he’d done so far that night had been, so what was one more screw up on top? “I’m sorry, Jim. If I’d known, I would have never would have said those things earlier.”

Jim tensed up immediately. “How do you know?” He whispered, his tone filled with emotions that Leonard couldn’t quite put his finger on.

“You said ‘Kodos’. Doesn’t take a genius to put that, and the way you’ve been acting together.” Leonard replied, keeping his eyes fixed on Jim.

Leonard had thought that maybe the revelation that he knew would get Jim to open up to him, but it didn’t. The silence spread out between them once again, and though the chilly atmosphere had dissipated, it had been replaced with something more tense. Leonard let it stretch on. The ball was in Jim’s court now, and he hoped that Jim trusted him enough to know that he could talk about this.

When the silence was broken, it was done so by a quiet, barely audible sob.

Leonard gave the middle finger to hesitance and restraint, and moved straight to Jim’s side. He wasn’t about to let the man he loved cry alone, even if he was pushed away.

Jim was trembling in his effort to cry quietly, but as soon as Leonard’s arm was around his waist, and Leonard’s chest was pressed to his back, a louder, broken sob escaped from him. The sobs kept coming, Jim’s chest heaving with each brutal one. Leonard held him through it, whispering gentle encouragements to let it out.     

Slowly, very slowly, Jim’s sobs turned to hiccups before turning ceasing altogether. It was only when the silence fell once more, did Leonard noticed that at some point he’d nuzzled into the back of Jim’s neck. He froze. He didn’t want to leave Jim. Being like this was right, and the thought of leaving Jim alone left an unpleasant knot in his gut, but the thought of making Jim uncomfortable left an even worse knot.

“Is this okay?” Leonard asked quietly. “I can leave you alone if that’s what you ne-…if that’s what you want.”

“No!” Jim shook his head immediately. “No. Stay, please, Bones. Don’t leave.”

“Okay, okay. I’m right here.” Leonard murmured, resisting his urge to kiss Jim’s neck. “I’m not going anywhere if you don’t want me to.”

Jim nodded. “I’m sorry, Bones. About earlier. I shouldn’t have snapped like that.”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about, Jim. I understand.” Leonard sighed, holding Jim just a little bit tighter. “Was…was what I said the reason behind it? The nightmare?”

“No, so don’t go beating yourself up over it.” Jim answered softly. “It’s been on my mind all day…it’s…it’s the anniversary of when all the shit started going down, and I guess being out here just reminded me of it.”

“God, I’m so sorry. If I’d had any idea, I wouldn’t have…”

“You wouldn’t have insulted me? Bones, you not insulting me over my capabilities would be like Klingons suddenly loving peace, and flower power; it wouldn’t be right. I guess…I guess I was just feeling more sensitive than I thought tonight, and…and it hurt…and I guess some petty, pathetic part of me wanted to hurt you back. I didn’t mean what I said.”

Leonard licked his lips and swallowed as he got his thoughts in order. “You were right though, Jim. Despite all the grief I give you, you are capable. If you weren’t, I’d never have followed you into the black. You don’t need me.” The ‘but I need you’ Leonard left unsaid.

“I do though, Bones!” Jim rolled over quickly and without warning, and Leonard found himself flat on his back with Jim hovering over him. “I do need you. I wouldn’t be able to do all this Captain stuff if I didn’t have you by my side, and watching my back. I need you, and I rely on you, and I want you…I…I want you to know that.” Jim bit his lip, and Leonard fought against the temptation to brush his thumb over the tear tracks lining Jim’s cheeks. “I love you, Bones.”

Leonard’s breath caught, and he blinked dumbly up at Jim. No… _no_  Jim didn’t mean it like that. He couldn’t. He meant he loved Leonard as a friend. That was it. That had to be it. “Love you too, damned infant. Now stop getting all sentimental on me, and go back to sleep. There’s no telling when the first cadets are going to arrive, and knowing that lot, there’ll be at least one group we’ll have to go and search for, so you need rest.” He muttered gruffly, hoping that Jim wouldn’t notice the waver in his voice.

Jim frowned, tilting his head and fixing Leonard with a gaze that made him want to squirm away. Then Jim was leaning down, and his lips were on Leonard’s. They were chapped from the cold, but still warm and welcoming, and it felt just like coming home. Leonard brought his hand up without thinking, cupping Jim’s cheek and pulling him closer. He was incapable of doing anything else with all that was spinning through his head was  _JimJimJim_.

It took a few moments for his brain to come back online when they broke apart, but when it did, the reality of what they’d just done hit him. They’d kissed. More specifically, Jim had kissed him, and he’d kissed back. He wanted to groan, but Jim was looking at him with eyes that were too wide, too vulnerable.

“Bones?”

“Jim.” Leonard took a breath, forcing his mind to clear before something happened that they’d both regret. Because this wasn’t right. It was impossible for Jim to have these feelings for him. “You’re feeling vulnerable right now, I understand, but this isn’t the way. We need to go to sleep before this goes any further. I don’t want you regretting anything in the morning.” Leonard wondered if Jim noticed how he implied that Jim would be the only one with regrets. “If you want me to stay close, I will. But nothing else.” And there was the final tug that tore his heart in two. Leonard had made plenty of hard decisions in his life, but turning away Jim Kirk when all he wanted was to pull the younger man close and kiss the breath from him, was probably one of the hardest.

Jim opened his mouth, but then closed it again and nodded. Leonard chose not to think about how crestfallen he looked. Then he dropped back down, and rolled so Leonard’s front was once again pressed along his back.

“Goodnight, Jim.” Leonard whispered in the near darkness, holding Jim as tightly as he dared.

“Night, Bones.” Jim whispered back, closing his eyes. They lay in silence, both of them pretending to be asleep, but both aware that neither actually was. There was an hour or so where Jim did drift back to sleep, and Leonard was glad of it. He needed the rest, and it allowed Leonard to relax a little and not have to worry about whether or not he was holding Jim too closely.

Dawn came slowly, but gradually the light in the tent became less artificial and more natural. Leonard moved first, slipping silently out of the tent in search of some packet coffee and some food. Jim joined him soon after, the two of them eating in a painfully awkward silence that Leonard hated.

Jim was building up to say something, and if Leonard didn’t find something productive to do soon, he was going to have to listen to Jim gently apologize for kissing him, and go on about how Leonard had been right, and that it was a bad idea. It was not something he could bear to hear after a night of so many emotions.

Luckily, his problem was solved by the first pair of cadets stumbling through into their clearing. Both himself and Jim were on their feet immediately, Jim going to greet the cadets, while Leonard went to get his tricorder.

“Are we the first back, sir?” One of the cadets asked Jim.

“You are, Cadet…?”

“Morris, sir. Cadets Morris and Wan.”

Leonard turned just in time to see Jim grab his PADD, and look up their details. Jim whistled. “Impressive, girls. You were set the furthest away from here. You’ve made an excellent time.” Jim grinned widely, and the cadets grinned back. “I’ll log your arrival. You two go get checked out by Doctor McCoy, then we’ll get you something warm to eat, that tastes good. Those ration packs are gross, right?”

The cadets giggled as they nodded. “Yes, sir.” Wan said, before she and her partner made their way over to Leonard.

Leonard scanned them both, but aside from Morris have a couple of scrapes after tripping over a branch, both girls were fine. Jim got them both some food, and started to chat to them easily. Leonard was more relieved just to have extra company, but mostly stayed quiet himself. He was happy to let Jim talk to the girls. They were obviously enamoured by the famous Captain Kirk, and Jim was a people person, so he was loving getting to know the cadets.

The rest of the cadets trickled in slowly, thankfully with no one having anything worse than a scratch or two. It seemed Jim had been right when he’d said they were a good bunch. Only one pair failed to meet the deadline, forcing Jim to use the emergency comm to get hold of them and find their location. Neither were injured, Leonard noted the relief on Jim’s face at that, but it seemed that they were both terrible at navigating their way through thick trees. Jim took a couple of cadets and went to find them, leaving Leonard and the rest to prepare to be beamed up to their ship home.

Leonard sent the cadets up first, along with orders to have a shower and sleep through the journey home, then sent up their tent and the remaining supplies save his tricorder and a medkit. When Jim returned with the remaining cadets, he checked them out too, before giving everyone the all clear to beam up.

Both Jim and Leonard went straight to the conference room to deliver their report over the success of the exercise, and Leonard couldn’t help but smile when Jim delivered extra praise for Morris and Wan over their performance. That didn’t stop Leonard from making a beeline to his assigned quarters as soon as he could though, hoping to avoid Jim for as long as possible. Maybe if he could stay clear for a day or two, the awkwardness would fade.

“Bones!” Of course he’d never be so lucky.

Leonard turned just in front of his quarters, and faced Jim who was jogging up to him. “Yeah?”

“Bones, can…can we talk? In private?”

Leonard sighed, wanting to say no, but he never had been able to resist those blue eyes. So he nodded, and typed in his code. He stepped in first, with Jim following behind him. The room was a lot smaller than his CMO quarters on the Enterprise, but it was still comfy, and it had a proper bed which Leonard very much liked the look of.

Jim let the door close behind him, before taking a step forward. “About last night. Bones, I just wanted to say thank you.”

Leonard crossed his arms over his chest reflexively, and turned back to Jim. “You don’t have to thank me for not taking advantage of you, Jim.” He muttered, looking at a spot on the door just past Jim’s head.

“Take advantage? No, Bones, I’m not talking about that. I meant the rest of it. The way you wrapped your arms around me, and just let me cry. It helped. A lot. And I appreciate it. I’m not used to being able to just let everything out about Tarsus like that, because nearly all of the few people who know about it, have run away.” Jim shrugged, shifting his weight awkwardly. “So thanks. For not running, and for staying.”

“I’m your friend, Jim. I’m never going to run if you tell me your past. And if you ever want to talk about it, I’m here.” Leonard murmured, lowering his arms. He couldn’t be defensive when Jim looked so damned lost.

Jim nodded. “Yeah, ‘kay, thanks. Anyway, that was it, so I’ll leave you get some sleep. I’ve kept you awake long enough.” Jim turned abruptly on his heels, hand raised to let himself out, but hesitated. “You wouldn’t have been taking advantage, you know.” Leonard could barely hear Jim as he spoke, so took a step closer.

“What?” He asked with a frown.

“If you’d kissed me again, or if we’d done more, you wouldn’t have been taking advantage.” Jim spun back around. “I wanted it. And when I said I loved you, I meant that I was in love with you.”

Leonard found himself rooted to the spot, blinking dumbly for the second time in one day. Jim wasn’t deterred though, and stepped right in front of Leonard. “I’m in love with you, Bones.” He whispered, before sealing his lips back over Leonard’s.

Just like during the night, Leonard reaching out to Jim was pure instinct. This time his arms came to wrap around Jim’s waist, pulling him flush to Leonard’s body. He could feel Jim’s stubble rub against his own, the slight burn adding a delicious twinge to the kiss.

“Tell me you mean it, Jim. Tell me, please.” He whispered breathlessly, letting his forehead rest against Jim’s.

“I mean it, Bones. I swear.” There was nothing but pure honestly in the baby blue eyes Leonard was looking into, and Leonard’s heart did a funny little flip.

“I love you too, Jim. I’m in love with you too.” Leonard kept his arms firmly around Jim, not daring to relax in case Jim disappeared in a puff of imaginary smoke. “But all my relationships end badly. I don’t want that to happen with us.”

“So do mine, Bones, but maybe this time it’s a good thing.” Jim replied with a lopsided grin. “Two negatives make a positive and all that.”

Leonard laughed, bringing in Jim for another kiss. “God help me, maybe you’re right for once.”

“Usually am.”

“What am I doing?” Leonard smiled, relaxing his hold, and when Jim didn’t suddenly disappear, brought a hand up to card through Jim’s hair.

“Don’t know about you, but I like the sound of a shared, very hot shower, followed by tumbling into that bed together, and sleeping until we reach Earth.” Jim hummed, leaning into Leonard’s touch.

“Well now, that does sound like the best idea I’ve heard all day. Lead the way, Captain.”


End file.
